Breeding Matters - Wading through the numbers – simplifying sire selection
Date Posted: 17th February 2026
Debbie McConnell, Principal Group Scientist, AI Services
As we enter the autumn period breeding is just around the corner for many farms, and the annual perusal of the A.I. catalogues will soon be underway.
The genetics industry has moved at pace in the past decade, with the explosion of genomics bringing a wealth of new information on what the latest breeding can offer our future herds. Newer composite traits such as feed efficiency and environmental impact are now available, and genomic proofs are available for all females for any herds that are milk recording.
But as someone who works in the industry and a self-confessed data lover, even I have to admit it can be challenging to keep apace with the onslaught of new traits and the ever-increasing amount of data!
With all of this new information at our fingertips the process of selecting AI sires may be overwhelming but the process can be as simple or as complex as we make it. In any situation there should be three clear steps to follow:
- Know your herds strengths and weaknesses. Take a look at herd performance data (for dairy herds most parlours now record a plethora of valuable information; for beef farmers factory data can be key). Review herd health issues over the past few years (has fertility been good, are you struggling with TB or have there been lameness issues?) and walk your herd considering aspects such as mature size and locomotion.
- Identify what you want from your herd in 2030. The breeding decisions we make today will not properly impact the herd for another five years so we need to consider what our herd should deliver in the future. Is this a tighter calving pattern, greater disease resistance or higher milk constituents?
- Bridge the gap between 1 and 2 by selecting AI sires (and breeding females) which exhibit the genetic traits you want to see in your 2030 herd. Genetics may only be one tool in our armoury, but it is an important one which will have a permanent and long-term effect. Prioritising 3 key genetic traits to improve on, rather than trying to tackle everything at once, will allow you to fast track genetic gain in these areas.